


Different Ways to Rot and Heal the Soul...and Teeth

by star_named_andy



Series: Paws-itivity [8]
Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Animal Transformation, BardXThranduil, Barduil - Freeform, Curses, Eating disorder mentioned/alluded to, Grief/Mourning, M/M, There's good stuff I promise, cat!Bard, thranduilxbard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-21
Updated: 2015-11-21
Packaged: 2018-05-02 16:34:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5255504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/star_named_andy/pseuds/star_named_andy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When dealing with sweets, moderation is the key to keep from falling over one edge or the other, good and bad.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Different Ways to Rot and Heal the Soul...and Teeth

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't know what to name this chapter. >w>
> 
> (Disclaimer: I do not own the Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, or any of its characters or content.)

When Legolas said he’d brought home treats, Thranduil hadn’t expected the quantity that he watched his son unpack: assortments of brownies, cupcakes, cookies, puddings, cakes, pastries, candies, cereals. At least there were some fruits and vegetables in the mix, but Thranduil didn’t even want to catch a glimpse of the shopping receipt. He could just imagine how much Legolas spent on all that junk…that lovely, scrumptious looking junk…

He had an awful sweet tooth, it was true. He tried to suppress it as best as he could, but as he eyed the variety in front of him, his fingers were itching. His teeth were starting to ache when he even considered taking a bite of one from memories of stuffing himself full of every sugary morsel he could get his hands on after his wife’s passing. What a horrible thing to become dependent on. Some would argue sweets were a better option than other things, but Thranduil found it hard to agree upon recalling his painful dentist visits. He felt some of his implants ache just at the thought of it. He had vowed never again. No temptation. No chances of getting pulled back down into a dark place that carried the façade of being okay with the aid of unhealthy foods. Everything about it was unhealthy. No one taste was worth the risk of slipping away from the world he’d built and managed to become comfortable and safe in.

His head was hazy with unpleasantry and his stomach gurgled at the mere sight of the growing display cluttering the counters.

He was drawn out of his trance with a startled jump when he heard Bard gasp loudly. The brunette stared in awe at the cereal box Legolas held in front of him and he took it in his own hands to ogle at it. His expression was first of amazement, but then of soft content.

“I remember these….” he said with quiet enthusiasm. He nodded, his bleary eyes shut, and when he opened them there was a trace of at least one escaped tear that was swiftly wiped out. “Ha, yeah I remember! I would always eat all of the marshmallows! _Wow!_ Oh, and _THESE!_ ” he went on, grabbing a bag of sour gummy worms. He shook the bag excitedly and Legolas laughed. “I had some of these in my pocket that night on the lake…wow.”

“Why don’t you rip it open and see if they taste the same as you remember?” Legolas coaxed.

Bard hesitated, staring at the bag as if in deep thought. What he was thinking was secret to his own head; even still, Thranduil wondered what he was concentrating so deeply on. Was he reminiscing about the night he met the mystic dragon Smaug? Was he dwelling on dread? Trying to remember other things, but couldn’t?

Thranduil and Legolas both watched closely as Bard finally tore open the bag and pulled out a colorful, sugar coated candy worm. He first felt it, rubbing his fingers along the surface texture. He sniffed it, and then bit down on a good chunk of it. He pulled and then chewed.

“Well?” Legolas questioned.

“Even better than I remember! Like its brand new, heh…” Bard said with a smile and finished the other half.

While the two were distracted, Legolas flaunting item upon item in Bard’s curious face and Bard inspecting every box and bag, Thranduil slipped out of the kitchen and then out of the house to leave the two to their smorgasbord of snacks.

He was driving with a place in mind and ten minutes in, his phone went off. By the specific noise he knew it was a text message from Legolas. He pulled over to check the message.

 

Legolas Greenleaf: Are you alright?

Me: Yes, fine. Will be back soon.

Legolas Greenleaf: I didn’t know you’d be home. I’m sorry. I wouldn’t have brought any of that stuff in the house.

Me: It’s alright, Legolas. I love you.

Me: And keep an eye on the demon.

Legolas Greenleaf: I love you too. I will.

 

Was it alright? Not really, but it wasn’t Legolas’ fault. It was his own, so he felt.

 

Another fifteen minutes and he arrived at his destination. He lived close on purpose.

Thranduil picked up the blue bundle of flowers he’d plucked from outside the Greenleaf home, gave a sigh, and emerged from the car. The only sound to be heard was the chirping of birds, who sounded too melodious and cheerful to be in such a place, but Thranduil liked their presence. Music to the souls resting there.

The distance he walked couldn’t be considered entirely lonely, since there were bodies below the ground, but Thranduil certainly felt solitary. Solitary and old, though he was still considerably young. People somehow noticed his youth more when they heard he was widowed.

He trekked up and down the small hills and dips along the gravel path until he came to a relatively empty span of grass. There was only one monument there, but there were plenty of blossomed flowers. It looked neat and beautiful as always, as he expected, for even if Thranduil no longer visited his wife’s grave every day, he made sure to send gardeners often enough to tend to the flowers so she would never be alone.

He sat in front of the tall stone engraved with her name silently for some time, before scoffing at himself.

“If I’m here, I should speak and not waste our time.” He started and took in a deep breath. “I will start with Legolas; he is doing well. His grades have never faltered once. He is so determined to have a perfect college record, and I believe he can do it, but I do hope he does not push himself too unnecessarily hard. I try to tell him he doesn’t _need_ all A’s all the time, but he seems to be handling the stress fine so far and he still makes the grades. He’s still friends from Tauriel from highschool, and he has of course made other friends, as I may have told you. He still lives home for now. I’m not sure what I’ll do when he leaves…but for now, the house is pretty full. It’s not just Legolas and I anymore. It’s so complicated. You’d be baffled, but Legolas is just like you in how he’s dealing with it all with such optimism. We got a cat – I know, another one – and this cat he’s…well, he isn’t a cat. He is, but not entirely. He’s human too with a curse. It’s a mess. I’m supposed to take care of him or whatever now, help him find his family, restore him to normal…I don’t know what I’m doing.”

Thranduil whined and groaned, laying on his side and laying the flowers between him and the gravestone.

“I feel as if I’m going to just disintegrate from all the stress of it. Every time I turn around it gets even more complex, and what am _I_ supposed to do? I am supposedly _the one_ this cat person – Bard – saw in his dreams that’s supposed to save him. It’s all so wild and bizarre. I don’t know where to begin…not to mention he’s a complete menace. I still have to work, still have to carry on with life as normal and now all of this. I wish you could _tell me what to do_.”

He gave a long sigh and stroked the grass.

“What do I do?”

 

“I miss you.”

 

The sky was light grey with falling night and the air cool. Thranduil had been waiting anxiously for hours now, knowing that the time would come where he heard footsteps coming to retrieve him and drag him home. That time was now.

Embarrassed, ashamed, a fool. It had been over a year since this last happened.

He didn’t turn when he heard the steps come to a stop. There was a pause.

“Hey.” Legolas said softly. “It’s been a while.”

“Yes.” Thranduil responded dryly, staring ahead at the headstone.

Legolas crouched down beside Thranduil and laid his hand gently on his father’s shoulder.

“She can always hear you, always be with you, no matter where you are. You don’t have to sit here.” He said.

“It’s not the same.” Thranduil wanted to say, but kept the glum comment to himself. He nodded instead and said “Where is he?”

“Home. He promised I could trust him to stay there by himself for a short time.”

“I hope for his sake that he kept that promise.”

 

The two rode back in their own cars, but once home, Legolas walked his father upstairs and saw him to his room.

“Are you going to bed?” Legolas asked from the doorway.

“No,” Thranduil said as he stripped off his coat and folded over his arm as he located a hanger. “I’ll probably sort through some papers for work.”

“Oh, okay. Well…if you need anything.”

“Thank you. I’m sorry you had to come out.” Thranduil said, his back to his son as he stored the hanger away in his closet.

“No, don’t be sorry.” Legolas said easily and gave half a smile. “It was nice to see mom anyway.”

“I’ve become too lazy with the ironing.” Said the elder blonde as he lingered in front of the open closet, running his hands along the creases of some of his dress shirts. “I meant to tell you…Elrond Lindon has asked me for dinner.”

“What? Really? Wait, that’s awesome! Of course he did, after you nailed that deal with Durin!”

“We’ll be having dinner here. You are invited, of course.”

“That’s such great news! He must have something in the cards for you. Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“With all that’s going on, it seemed unimportant.”

“It’s not unimportant at all!” Legolas exclaimed happily. He moved further into the room and hugged his father from behind, burying his head in Thranduil’s shoulder.

“I haven’t felt this low in quite some time now. It makes it hard to see the worth of anything beyond what is happening right in front of me.”

A pause, and Legolas wrapped his arms tighter around Thranduil’s chest.

“Those feelings come and go, but I’ll always be here.” He offered softly.

“You will start a life of your own soon enough.” Thranduil retorted.

“But you’ll always be in it. I know it’s hard for you to keep that real in your mind, but it’s true. I love you and I’ll be here whether times are hard or easy. I don’t know how we’re going to jump this hurdle, but we will. We will together.”

“I don’t know how either.” Thranduil spoke, turning so that they could both embrace each other.

“We’ll figure this out, dad. It’s a good thing we’re trying to do for him. Maybe this whole thing is some kind of blessing in disguise.”

Thranduil nodded mutely.

“Are you okay?” Legolas whispered.

“I will be.” Thranduil replied just as hushedly, nodding again and the two separated. Legolas smiled at him warmly and Thranduil’s lips curled in automatic response.

“I’ll hang with Bard tonight and try to figure out where we can start.”

“You don’t need to bother yourself with that.”

“I don’t mind it, really. It’s not a problem.” Legolas shrugged. “You do whatever you need and I’ll keep him out of your hair. I’ll bring you up some water.”

“Legolas…thank you.”

“Of course.”

 

A few hours, more peaceful than the previous, passed with Thranduil busying himself with work related tasks. Legolas brought him water as promised, and then Thranduil went on to review files and began assembling things for his next big presentation. His last presentation had been a hit, the one in which he’d won Thorin Durin over. Though everyone else agreed almost immediately to his proposal, Thorin was stubborn. It didn’t help that he and Thranduil had some ill dealing in the past, but after some deliberation, Thorin and Thranduil ended up shaking hands and signing papers. Such a move earned him a dinner invitation from his boss. He tried not to think of the upcoming event, for instead of it being a thrill to look forward to, it was another thing to worry about. If Bard was still in his half form by then, what was Thranduil to do? Things would be bound to go wrong…

His present tasks kept the troubling matter away, though a pestering thought floated around in the back of his head: “How will I keep from stressing over the dinner once I’m done working for the night?”.

Legolas had come to ask him down to dinner, which Thranduil rejected, and then again to say goodnight.

After all actual work had been done and filed away for the evening, he touched up on organizing his study and bedroom and vacuumed up the seemingly endless cat hairs he was finding. Then, he had nothing left to dally with, and flopped onto his bed. His stomach grumbled and he cursed at it with a groan and a roll of his eyes. He closed his eyes, telling himself he’d get up to eat in a few minutes.

He closed his eyes once, and he opened them again once a noise roused him from his relaxed state. Once he pried his eyelids apart, the light glared in his vision before he could set his gaze on the clock. No wonder he felt terribly groggy – he’d fallen asleep.

He turned back toward the sound that woke him and knew it must have been the door, for Bard was shuffling toward the bed, but he wasn’t making a single sound. Not a word, a breath, a step. He lowered himself onto the bed slowly and delicately and then loomed over Thranduil, blinking in surprise to meet open eyes.

“You’re awake?” Bard whispered.

“Mmm…” Thranduil grumbled with a nod and rubbed his face.  Bard laid down and curled right up next to Thrandui.

“Go back to sleep.”

“The night always brings intoxicating cruelty, doesn’t it? Or I’m simply…delusional, and dramatic.” Thranduil gave a lame shrug and let his eyelids fall closed. Sleep was beckoning to him.

“Is that poetry or something?” Bard spoke up, keeping the blonde in the world of the conscious.

“Could be, I suppose.”

“Seems so sad.”

“It is. I used to dread and crave the night for one reason…”

“What’s that?...Thran-duil?” Bard pawed at the man’s shoulder, poking him until he forced his eyes open again. “What reason?”

“The evil it bears.”

“Huh? That doesn’t make much sense.” Bard let out a slow, calm sigh and pat Thranduil’s chest. “Ah, just go back to sleep.

“The night always leaves and lately I haven’t wanted them too, but this evil is entirely different. It isn’t the lonely sort.”

Bard scooched closer so that their bodies touched, flushing Thranduil with warmth, and the tired blonde could hear and feel Bard’s faint purring. The brunette nuzzled his head into the pale gold curtain spilled over Thranduil’s shoulder and grazed the tip of his nose over the nape of Thranduil’s neck once before the blonde recoiled. Bard’s eyes flashed up frantically, anticipating he’d irritated the drowsy man and expecting some kind of scolding remark or gesture, but was puzzled when he looked straight up into Thranduil’s untelling gaze. All that was readable within it was a glaze.

“You really are tired.” Bard noted with half a smile and sat up. “My nights have become much better with you, Thranduil…I hope that you won’t always hate them. I hate to think I only burden you when you bring me such good things. You deserve good things, plenty of them – all of them, even.”

“To say that of someone who has treated you as I have makes you some kind of ignorant.”

“No, I truly believe it.” Bard said with the utmost conviction in his voice and a seriousness on his face that Thranduil was too exhausted for.

“Enough talk. I’m in no condition for it. Lay down and go to sleep.” The blonde sighed.

“Lay down?”

“Yes, _lay down and go to sleep, **please**._ ”

“I can’t say no to please.” Bard chuckled lightly with a deadly, attractive grin. He gracefully let himself down onto the bed and cozied himself under the covers.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Goodnight, then.”

“Bard,”

“Yes, Thranduil?” he cooed softly.

“If you have any gummy worms on your person, remove them.” Thranduil replied sternly.

“How did you know?”

“I’m pretty sure I just rolled over one. No more food in the bed.”

“Sure thing, _roomie_.” Bard beamed and he emptied his pockets, gingerly dropping a clump of gummy worms on Thranduil’s bedside table.

A deal it was, then. Roomies.

 

In the morning Thranduil rose early for work, rousing Bard as soon as he started off the bed, despite his efforts of keeping the bed still and quiet. Their eyes met, but then Bard didn’t say anything so Thranduil proceeded with his business. He stretched out his long limbs and then went straight for the hairbrush, combing through starting from the bottom and working his way up gently.

“Your hair is so thin and soft. It doesn’t look like it’s tangled at all.” Bard commented with a lazy smile and the blonde’s lips curled into a smirk, his eyes flickering into the brunette snug in his covers.

“Unlike your mangled, curly mop.”

“I can’t help it. My hair has always been this way - I’m pretty sure.” Bard ran a hand over his thick mess of hair and sighed. “Why are you up so early?”

“I have to go in to work today.”

“Work?” Bard’s voice raised exponentially and he sat up abruptly. “But we have so much to do! You’re going to go off to work for the entire day?”

“I have to, Bard. There is no argument.”

Bard readjusted himself, laying on his stomach and sprawling out over the length of the bed. He outstretched his arms and tugged on Thranduil’s pant leg.

“Come back to bed, just for a while.” He pleaded, and Thranduil scoffed.

“You want me to stay so we can sleep in? You just said we had _so_ much to do.”

“We do, but we can do that after another few hours.”

“You can sleep as long as you’d like, but you’ll have to do it on your own.”

“Or I can ask Legolas. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind me joining him.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“That would be inappropriate.”

“We share a bed.”

“I find that you become more insufferable in the daytime.”

“I just like being around people.”

“You won’t know the difference if you’re asleep.”

“You definitely need more sleep – too grumpy for the world.”

“Bard-”

“ ** _Thranduil_** , **_come_** _**sleep with me**._ ” Bard purred lowly and slid his arms around the blonde’s waist. His brush flew from his hand, its landing point and it itself now unimportant, as Thranduil was jerked forward and toppled down onto the bed and onto Bard.

Surely he was only blushing so furiously was because of his embarrassing gasp and not because of his present situation…at least that’s what Thranduil was telling himself as he stared right into alluring eyes of iridescent gold and felt smug breath from the brunette’s smirk tickling his nose.

His awareness of Bard’s hands on him was exponentially high, and skyrocketed even more when one hand left his waist and stroked the small of his back all the way up his spine and to the back of his neck. Slipping under a layer of hair, his palm rested there on Thranduil’s neck and massaged the very tense area. The blonde stifled a contented sigh at the soothing pattern in which Bard’s fingertips rubbed into his skin.

“You’re so tight here, Thranduil. You work so hard; you deserve to stay home and relax a while longer.”

“If I am absent after my boss invited me to an important, personal dinner, I’d look arrogant. I don’t want to risk losing the opportunity.”

“An important dinner? What makes it so important?”

“I believe I may get offered a promotion.”

“That’s great! We should celebrate.” Bard said with a beaming grin and pulled Thranduil even closer.

“No, nothing to celebrate yet - I need to start getting read, Bard, please.”

“Bard _please_ convince me to stay home? Of course, I’d _love_ to.”

“Alright, _enough_ -”

“ _Relax_. Give me just a few minutes. Take off your shirt and lay face down.”

“My shirt?” Thranduil questioned dryly with an eyebrow raised.

“Yes. I can help you along, if that’ll convince you.”

“ _No_.” Thranduil said sternly and, with a graveled exhale, started pulling off his shirt. “I’ll take care of it.”

“Always taking care of yourself. You should let others share the responsibility sometimes.”

Thranduil rolled his eyes with an “ _Mmhm_ ” and dropped his shirt to the floor. He eyed the smiling brunette before laying down, chest pressed to the mattress and cheek to the pillow. He felt Bard straddle him and then sit gently on his lower back.

“Only a few minutes, and no funny business.” Thranduil muttered.

“Or what?” Bard laughed. Before Thranduil could snap out a reply, he groaned as Bard set his hands to work and the knots in his shoulders were attended to.

He let himself sink into the mattress while Bard caressed him deftly, his touch varying in pressure in all of the right places. His strains were like a corset holding him hostage, and he’d gotten so used to the aching pain that he went through every day with it weighing on him like it was normal. The corset ties were now slowly and carefully being loosened, until the stress fell away completely. Once it vanished, it was almost as if a calm ecstasy melted him. He was baffled to know that he had been so tightly wound for so long, but he didn’t dwell on it. He merely basked in the peace his body was feeling. A pleasant moan passed his lips, his body thanking those blessed hands for the sweet liberty they had bestowed upon him.

Bard didn’t say a word, but started to calmly hum once he had felt Thranduil truly relax.

 

When Thranduil next opened his eyes, he laid like a soft, clay lump until he finally came to and realized he was awake…awake?... ** _awake_**. Dammit, **_AWAKE_**!

He sprung upright and Bard, with his limbs tangled around Thranduil in such a way that he clung to the blonde, stirred and grumbled.

“What time is it?” Thranduil demanded sharply, but looked to the clock for himself before he could get an answer. Late. _So_ _late_. He felt like he’d vomit or explode or maybe even faint from the sudden rush of anger he was feeling, but there was no time for any of that!

As if reading his thoughts before Thranduil could act upon them, Bard laid a lazy hand on Thranduil’s chest and said “ _Shh_ , don’t worry. I took care of it.”

“What the hell does that mean, _you took care of it?_ I told you only a few minutes!”

“I _mean_ , I took care of it. And I followed through on my part; _you_ were the one who fell asleep. I didn’t have the heart to disturb you.”

“Oh, I’m sure that was your motivation for letting me sleep my life away!”

“You’re overreacting.” Bard said easily, sitting up, rubbing Thranduil’s chest, and nuzzling his head on his shoulder. “Don’t put all my work to waste and get all tightened up again – I would gladly massage you again, but you should avoid getting that way if you can help it. It must be awfully uncomfortable.”

“You don’t know anything about the real world, Bard. This isn’t how things work. You can’t just do whatever you want whenever you want.” Thranduil snapped and stood, snatching up his phone.

“So you _wanted_ to stay with me?” Bard prodded, a smile creeping on his lips. He shook his head upon seeing how furrowed Thranduil’s brows were, how wrinkled and fixed with negativity his face became. “No use in calling - Legolas called your work for you and told them you wouldn’t be coming, told them you were too sick to even call yourself. They wished you well and said they’re sending a basket.”

Thranduil dropped his phone on the bedside table where it had been and glared at Bard, who merely stretched across the mattress, his tail flicking about slowly in the air. He pat a spot next to him on the bed.

“I’ve had enough sleep for today.” Thranduil spoke and Bard smiled – he _really_ had to stop doing that.

“You don’t have to sleep. Just lay beside me until I get up and relax.”

“I’ll end up laying there forever. All cats do is lay around – and pester, apparently.”

“I didn’t think I was annoying you earlier. I didn’t hear one complaint out of you. You actually seemed to like it. Did it make you feel any better?”

“Yes…thank you.”

“Any time.”

 

“Alright! Gather around!” Legolas ordered to his father and his newfound companion, calling them both to attention.

Thranduil, who had been at the sink rinsing dishes and then filing them into the dishwasher, finally pried Bard’s plate from him after his third helping to put it with the rest. He made a comment about Bard eating more like a dog than like a cat or a human, but Bard didn’t seem bothered as he polished off the rest of the waffle sticks he’d swiped from the plate before Thranduil confiscated it. The two then joined Legolas at the counter, peering over his shoulder.

They’d decided that since Thranduil was home for the day and Bard was already three days into his human form which he only had seven of for the month, they would begin their quest for a cure.

“Dad, this is the list Bard and I were able to put together of possible locations to search for clues about the curse and how to absolve Bard from it."

"And to find my kids." Bard added swiftly.

"Yes, and to find the kids." Legolas affirmed.

That was right, Bard said he had children out and about somewhere...Thranduil had a difficult time picturing said children or even picturing Bard as a father. He couldn't possibly a good one, could he? 

"It wasn’t easy to compile these, and we’re only going off some hunches with these locations, but it’s what we’ve got and it’s better than nothing. I’ve got maps for all of the surrounding areas for each location.” Legolas explained and then pointed to one place listed in particular that was underlined red. “The red ones are the ones that Bard feels most certain about having connections to him and the curse, and the blue ones are ones he wasn’t so sure of, but I didn’t want to rule out anything completely.”

“I tried to remember things the best I could.” Bard said sheepishly.

“Fourteen places total,” Thranduil commented and Legolas nodded. “It’s still quite the list; some of these places aren’t anywhere near here.”

“So where should we start? Closest and then fan out as we go?” Legolas asked.

“We’ll start with the closest red marked location and work around that, since there aren’t too many red ones…are there any you feel particularly strong about?” Thranduil asked, directing his inquiry to Bard.

“Not really, besides my hometown where it happened, but that’s farther out.”

“Alright. The first closest red spot it is.”

“Everyone packed and ready to go?” Legolas asked.

“Yes, we can head out. We’ll take my car.”

Each of the men grabbed their bags for their day trip. Legolas volunteered to ride in the backseat where he would give directions from the GPS on his phone. Once buckled and adjusted, Bard situated one of Legolas’ baseball caps onto his head, sure to have his ears tucked away.

“One more thing,” Thranduil said turning to Bard. “Do you have any plan of what we’re going to do when we get there, or are we just going in blindly?”

“I have no plan whatsoever.” Bard admitted, a queasiness in his tone.

“We’ll figure it out.” Thranduil assured, patting Bard’s hand and squeezing it lightly for just a brief moment.

“We may even have some fun along the way, and this is only the beginning!” Legolas added from the back and Bard smiled a little.


End file.
